One Piece Hollywood Live Action Tv Series Announced!

According to new reports from Yahoo! Japan, Eiichiro Oda has confirmed One Piece will be getting a live-action Hollywood adaptation in the form of a TV show.

Hiroyuki Nakano, editor-in-chief of publisher Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jumpanthology, appeared at an event at Tokyo Tower on July 21 to commemorate the manga’s 20th anniversary (One Piece’s first chapter was published in Weekly Shonen Jump in July of 1997). While there, Nakano made the shocking announcement that not only is a live-action One Piece TV series in the works, but that it’ll be produced in the U.S. Handling production on the series will be Tomorrow Studios, the production company which counts Marty Adelstein, producer of Prison Break, among its members and which is also working on a live-action adaptation of 1998 anime Cowboy Bebop.

At the event, a statement from Oda was presented, in which One Piece’s creator said:

“There have been talks of making a live-action One Piece movie many times over the past 20 years, and we began seriously perusing the idea three years ago. There were many twists and turns along the way, but we’ve found a good partner, coincidentally just as the manga’s 20th anniversary comes. I am very happy.”

Oda went on to say that he has placed a condition upon the live-action project, specifically that it “absolutely not betray the fans who have supported the franchise for 20 years.”

A statement from Adelstein was also presented, in which the producer said that he has been a fan of One Piece for 20 years. He also predicted that the live-action One Piece will be the most-expensive TV series ever produced, and that given the worldwide attention he expects the adaptation to receive, such investment will be well justified.

No details were provided regarding when the series would begin airing, nor which parts of the 872-chapter (and growing) One Piece manga would be adapted.